‘Saturday Night Live’ celebrates 50 years of comedy
Live from New York, it’s the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live.”
A landmark season of “Saturday Night Live” is in the books.
The Season 50 finale of “SNL” kicked off with a spoof of President Donald Trump’s recent trip to the Middle East. Joined by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (played by Emil Wakim), Trump (James Austin Johnson) declared that he has been having a fantastic week.
“I didn’t make this trip for myself, I want to make that clear,” he said. “I did this for the American people. And, in many ways, myself, my personal enrichment. I did that, too. I did very well on this trip. Got a lot of cool stuff.”
Johnson’s Trump denied that a luxury jet offered to him by Qatar’s royal family is a bribe “because they haven’t asked for anything in return,” though bin Salman quickly interjected, “Well, not yet.” Johnson’s Trump conceded, “All right, so it’s a pre-bribe.”
He also noted “I don’t think I saw a single woman” on his Middle East trip. “The women are all hiding. It’s like a nation of Melanias.”
But the end of the cold open got seriously meta, with Johnson’s Trump saying he can’t “stay in this sketch much longer” before walking out into the audience to speak to the camera about the “SNL” finale.
“After tonight, you won’t be seeing me here for a while,” he said. “Well, not the fake, fun version of me that makes you smile. The real one will still be omnipresent. You can’t escape me, right? I’m everywhere.”
He concluded, “See you again in the fall, if we still have a country, right? It’s a coin toss.”
Who’s leaving ‘SNL’? Scarlett Johansson monologue jokes about cast departure speculation
Rumors ran wild heading into the finale about which cast members might not return for Season 51.
That still hasn’t been confirmed, but host Scarlett Johansson’s monologue had fun with the rumors and speculation. The “Jurassic World Rebirth” star brought the cast out to join her in a parody of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man,” with the lyrics rewritten to be about the “SNL” finale.
“It lasted forever, we did it together, and we got to spend it with you,” Johansson and the cast sang.
“It’s been a great season, and Sarah is leaving,” Johansson also sang, referring to Sarah Sherman, before the rest of the cast joined in, “We’re all going to miss you next year.”
But Sherman, who is not known to be leaving the show, jokingly acted distraught, asking, “Wait, what? Did you guys hear something? What do you mean leaving?”
Colin Jost brings Scarlett Johansson flowers as ‘SNL’ Season 50 wraps
Some fans had speculated Colin Jost could be leaving the show after the Season 50 finale, or perhaps getting a promotion that would take him off of “Weekend Update.”
Nothing was confirmed during the episode, which ended with a sweet moment between Johansson and Jost, who are married and have a young son together. As Johansson was saying goodnight at the end of the show, Jost walked out and handed her flowers before the two shared a kiss.
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